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Dan Hurley - Pre Sweet 16 Presser SD State · Coaches Corner

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  Since that championship game. We both got to the finals of our conference tournament,
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  you know, and obviously, uh, you know, coming back from
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  that that game last year, you know, we both got into uh,
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  you know, this game again. So a lot of respect for San Diego
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  State and coach and their culture. I think it's an awesome matchup to Sweet
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  sixteen, has all great matchups. Thank you. Questions for coach really there
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  right here the back right, coach barks away from San Diego Union Tribune.
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  I just asked Tristan about this. Can you take us through last year?
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  It's a five point game, they close it. People are kind of getting
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  uneasy in the in the arena, and you called it play for Jordan,
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  What was the play called? Why did you call that in that moment?
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  And how much did it change the game? Yeah, I mean our people
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  are getting uneasy. I'm sure San Diego State people were were excited, you
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  know, when knew they were going to make a run there. You know,
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  just uh, you know, such a good team, such a great
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  program, uh culture, pride, and that was just an action that we
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  uh you know, it was probably our second or third counter off of something
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  we call scissors. It was scissors triple, So it was like a scissor
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  action for a point guard. But what we really wanted was, uh,
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  it was it was a triple for Hawkins, you know. And obviously as
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  far as movement shooters goes and clut shooters, you know, they make it
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  hard on you to get to the room and score. Their defense is excellent
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  the paint. So you know, that was the call where you to live
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  damn. Pete Thamil from ESPN. Donovan just answered the question about the anniversary
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  of his mother's death. Obviously that's something that's really shaped his, uh,
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  his life and his love for basketball. I'm wondering you've obviously known him now
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  for four or five years recruiting and being a local kid. I'm wondering how
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  you've you've seen honor her in in that way and just speak to the depth
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  of her memory and how it shaped him. Please, yeah, Donovan,
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  just uh, you know, it's just unique personality. Uh h, It's
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  it's you know, just rare to see somebody that just that's dealt with what
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  he's dealt with, heart breaking tragedy and and then has the the personality that
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  he has. He's so alive and he's so vibrant, and he brings so
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  much personality and he's uh, he's a total giver. He's just uh,
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  just a special, unique human being. Even how he handled uh, the
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  way he was raised by his parents and in the community in Bristol. Uh,
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  how he didn't let him get too big for for his is it riches
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  pete. Okay, he in the way he handled last year at the end
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  of the season, he would have been a top twenty pick. Knew it
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  wasn't ready. Literally the next day just came in and said like, hey,
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  uh, your coach, I'm not ready. Let's let's run it back.
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  There wasn't a meeting with the agent and a series of the drama.
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  You know, it's just a he's a special kid. Are you here in
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  the middle? Hey? Dan? Mike gableson New Hampshire Union Leader two for
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  for you? Can you speak to Solomon's continued development and the way he's evolved
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  as a bench player as a true freshman And then what does a san's veteran
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  experience bring off the bench? Yeah, just with it has. We wouldn't
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  be where we are without that veteran you know, multi positional guard. Obviously,
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  he's built He's built well for the Big East in games like tomorrow because
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  he's physical and he's aggressive, and the shooting is improved, and you know,
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  you can't win in this tournament without depth. And then solo, you
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  know, especially in the non conference, solo is awesome for us. We
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  don't win the Carolina game without him at MSG. He was brilliant in that
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  game. You know, league play is tougher on freshman but you could see
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  a guy that you know, if he stays with us, and you know,
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  and and trust, the program's got a chance to develop into a tremendous
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  player at Yukon. Right here in the middle, coach HI coach Marley Riirdo
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  with seven News in Boston. You guys obviously have geography on your side this
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  weekend. How much of an impact will that make? I knowing you're gonna
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  have a lot of fans at the garden this weekend and especially when you're playing
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  on this kind of a stage. Yeah, we we hope, so,
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  you know, we we certainly hope. So we hope the crowd could be
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  a store's north for est maybe feel a little bit like like MSG does for
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  us when we play there in the Big East. Tournament and then they're or
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  you know, during the Big East Anglar season two. So we've earned that
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  by the season that we've had. This wasn't some like gift uh by the
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  committee uh to try to make it as easy as possible for us. We
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  Uh, we've earned our position. We've manifested uh, you know, Brooklyn
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  to Boston since really April, since last year when we won the championship,
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  and we've worked incredibly hard over that time period to uh, you know,
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  to earn the opportunity to play in front of hopefully uh, you know,
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  a sixty percent Yukon type of crowd uh and then hopefully you know, Illinois
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  fans and Iowa States fans don't get involved. We're here to the right coach.
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  Thanks Jacobellon from Supportigo. I'm curious for Yukon as one of the top
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  programs in the country to maintain that status. How important is it for the
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  Biggest as a conference to maintain its strength and going forward? What changes,
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  if energy expect to see to make sure the conference gets the respect it deserves.
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  Yeah, I think we've we've proven ourselves at the top end. You
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  know what what uh, you know, Villanova's not too far removed from a
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  national championship. Obviously, we won it last year, US Marquette crighton or
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  all vying for it this year. I just think some of the other situations
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  with some of the programs just could take a little bit more time. Fat
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  Man has made you tribes at Butler, you know, uh coach Beatino,
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  Kim English, you know Ed Cooley, you know Shaheen Holloway, and we
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  have people and in places Villanova obviously with their pedigree. I just think some
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  of our programs are going to take another big jump this upcoming year. And
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  then you know, I think the best thing that we could all do is
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  is scheduled the right way with the non conference and then you know, you
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  got to win big non conference games. You have to. You've got to
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  come into league, you know, with with some big non conference wins.
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  You know, we went out and you know, we beat Carolina and we
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  beaton Zaga and we beat Texas before we got the league play. You know,
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  Marquette went out and did you know, did the same type of things.
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  We just need more teams performing at a higher level in non conference.
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  Here to the front right, coach Jimmy Gold Associated Press Charlie Baker said today
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  that he wanted to see State's band player based prop bets because it creates pressure
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  on players. Some people are reaching out to players and kind of blaming them
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  for losing their bets. Is that something you'd like to see to take some
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  of the pressure off the players. Yeah, I mean social media is,
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  thank you. Yeah, I just think it's social media is I don't really
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  know what a prop bet is, but social media is vicious. So anything
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  we could do just to make it less vicious, I'd be all for that.
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  Relative to Charlie Baker, coach right here at the front. Yeah,
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  Twer Sullivan from the Boston Globe, I read some of your previous quotes about
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  the transfer portal. I'm sorry. I hope you weren't asked today if you
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  could change it to a certain way, like what's what's your is it?
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  Is there an ideal way it? It could be better? Should be better?
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  What do you say? Yeah? I think we could wait too.
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  Do we get to like maybe the conclusion of the season, that would be
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  nice. It almost feels like in a way right now, teams that are
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  really really successful and having great seasons or it's almost like becoming pro sports where
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  it feels like we're gonna have like the last pick in the draft right where
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  like a lot of the players will be gone. You know, we'll have
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  made decisions because we're not we're not recruiting. We may be listed by some
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  some players on some lists of having shown interest, but I know that I
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  don't have interest right now because I'm just well, you could focus on I
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  think, you know, with the way that we function as a program is
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  like on our team and coaching the season, and then we'll make personnel moves,
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  you know, once we're done coaching this group. But I mean,
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  you can't open up that window until the season's over, you know. I
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  mean, I don't think you should play in five schools in four years or
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  four schools in four years. I don't think that's healthy for the individual for
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  the long term, like fifty sixty year life after their playing career is over,
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  you know, because there's no connection with a university, a coaching staff,
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  a network of alumni that could help create opportunities once basketball is over.
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  So you know, I just think, you know, whether it's a one
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  time training, I don't know. I don't like the window being open right
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  now, and I just don't think it's healthy for somebody to be able to
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  change schools like underwear coach over here to the right, dan Ian Steele,
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  ABC, Rhode Island. Two guys on your staff with Rhode Island Ties,
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  Andre Berry, Malik Martin. What makes them good additions to your staff?
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  What do you see for them in the future in this business and maybe going
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  back to them when they were younger, you know, pinpoints that you saw.
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  Yeah, I mean Entres a championship player for me at Roady and you
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  know, and a guy that you didn't have instant gratification. He had to
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  earn a role and develop over time. So he's got a great message for
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  my current players that are either having to earn their role or trying to become
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  a you know, a high level player. And obviously the Martin family,
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  there's no better family than the Martin family. Hassa. Martin's sort of the
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  best and greatest players have ever coached, and that is like the greatest Staten
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  Island family of all time right there. Those are incredible people. So anytime
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  you know you can have that type of connection, it just it helps your
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  culture significantly. Back right here, coach and kill worn with the Washington Post.
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  How how did the challenges that you went through as a college player shape
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  you as a coach and how you approach your own players today. Yeah,
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  I just think maybe sometimes you know, coaches are play coaches that weren't the
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  greatest players, uh or you know, were pretty good or had their moments,
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  but then also went through some struggles. You could just relate to the
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  entire roster in a in a in a unique way that way, all players
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  at all different points of season. And then I also think you know,
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  when you've had times in your playing career where you've struggled, I do think
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  it hardens you. It toughens you up. You've dealt with a lot of
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  adversity and and you know how to handle failure. And I think as a
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  coach, you know, in this business, if you if you can't handle
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  adversity, failure, you're you're going to have a very very hard time.
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  So yeah, I mean bricking all those shots back at the Hall certainly paid
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  off right here in the middle. Coach, Hey, Dan, one more
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  for you. A lot of talk with the guys. You know, how
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  does last year build into this year? Before you as a coach, what
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  do you learn coaching a national champion. Uh that you then take into the
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  future and got good teams at Wagner, a couple of tournaments at RII,
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  but reaching the mountain top, how do you then evolve as a coach and
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  learn from it yourself. Yeah, I just think you take the confidence from
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  that. Obviously, we followed up that with we've been the best team in
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  the country, you know this year and uh, with what we'ved able to
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  accomplish, and we're not gonna be able to trade that in for anything tomorrow
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  night versus the team we faced last year in the finals. But you know,
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  we bring to confidence. You know, we believe, we think we're
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  supposed to win these games. And it's like a kind of a double because
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  just Yukon, you know, the fan base, the organization, the history
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  and men's and women's basketball, we truly believe deep down in some some some
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  some place that this is what we're supposed to do this time of year.
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  Plus we did it last year. But then we didn't carry a complacency that
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  other national championship teams carry with them because since June we've worked like we haven't
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  won anything. And that's I think that's the secret sauce. You have time
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  for about two Mark right in the middle, Coach Hey, Dan Matt Rebeltowski
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  with Forbes Sports Money. There's there's a new sports book at the XL Center,
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  and Temple has been under investigation for betting activities over the last few weeks.
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  So in light of that, should there be more seminars and player outreach
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  effort out there to protect the players from some of the unscrupulous and nefarious characters
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  who are in the environment now, Yes, absolutely, which just how easy
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  it is to gamble on your phone or you know again you know locally,
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  you know, I don't think you can you can do enough that way,
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  So you know, absolutely, in light of that, you know, we've
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  had internal conversations here at the athletic department about you'll continue to to stress that
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  to our student athletes right here and phone coach Dan Dondmory Haart for Current you
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  know, the other day, I know you referenced making yourselves bulletproof, and
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  today you've talked about how you've earned the position that you're in and no complacency.
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  How much with all the success to the last sixty or so games,
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  fifty games, has your job or approach changed to where it's really positive reinforcement.
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  Now you want to continue need to build the swagger and build the confidence
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  that your team has because there's there's not much reason to criticize them. No,
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  I mean the probably some of the big I mean, you know,
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  my superstitions are stacking up because we've won a lot, won so much,
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  so like keeping track at that, it's been tough. Yeah, And like
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  last year we were a four seed. Uh, you know, we we
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  earned a position to have to go out west with U c. L A.
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  Gonzaga out there, you know, and had to play Gonzaga in Vegas.
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  Yeah. So yeah, I mean we we earned the opportunity to be
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  the number one overall seed and play in Brooklyn and take buses. You know,
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  when I talk about bulletproof, I mean we're vulnerable. This is not
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  a best of five at best of seven. Uh, you have one off
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  night. Uh, you know where everything you know falls apart. You know,
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  you could be the best team in the country and not win the tournament.
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  When I talk about bulletproof, you know, for me, the formula
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  is top ten offense, top ten defense. You know, being a tremendo,
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  this rebounding team, being a team that plays with utter desperation in terms
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  of how hard we play and then having depth to survive. You know,
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  the other night a two two for twenty two three point effort or three and
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  one of those was you know from you know, a walk on not named
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  Andrew Hurley at the end of the game. So we shot the ball horribly,
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  but we were a bulletproof the other night because of our defense, our
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  passing, our ability to score a rim twos. We could win a lot
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  of different types of games. So you want to make yourself as bulletproof as
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  possible in this tournament by just being as well rounded as deep. Of course,
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  you'll take on on here for proofs. You've been boring. You've been
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  very boring in this I'm not getting the right questions. Uh what do I
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  need to ask? Living you up a little bit, Charlie color Baker,
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  No, no, we don't want to hear it. I'm a Bengal fan.
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  I'm a Bengal fan. Remember what I made you do the Ikey shuffle
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  years ago? That was Mohegan was No, I did not know. Please
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  know this year's team A lot of a lot of opposing coaches will say this
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  year's team is better, scarier to them than last year's. Last year's probably
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  have more high end talent. You agree with that and why this team fits.
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  I just think that the pieces fit so well. I think a lot
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  of it's been your trial and error those couple of years when we weren't successful
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  in the tournament. Just the personalities, the skill set obviously adapting to you
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  know, the the analytics and the modern game from an offensive standpoint, the
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  growth there as a coach in terms of roster, Uh, your roster construction.
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  You know there's there's NBA prospects on this roster. I know that.
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  You know, the we were somebody said something about, you know, being
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  able to win, and we were picked closer to fourth than we were third
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  in our Big East Coaches preseason poll. So I know with somebody on ESPN's
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  time, we could beat an NBA team or some bizarre shit that's like,
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  uh, that's crazy talk. But you know, we do have several players
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  on this team that are going to play in the NBA, are going to
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  be drafted in the NBA, are going to be drafted the lottery in the
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  NBA. And and you can't deny when you watch this team play that It's
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  a fun team to watch because the ball moves and we share it and we
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  play for each other. You could see the culture, you could see the
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  energy, you could see the commitment to defense. You could see the personalities,
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  you know, up and down the organization. It's a you know,
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  it's it's been a great team. It's just been a it's been a fun
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  team. I think we've got to we finally have kind of figured out the
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  formula coach thinks so much true time. Sorry to disappoint